Indian fintech company Signzy Technologies is combining IBM’s AI and blockchain offerings to develop a platform that speeds up the identity verification process used by financial institutions.

The company claims the platform, which utilises both IBM Watson and IBM Blockchian, will cut the verification process by 80%, improve compliance with regulations and reduce fraud.

The platform looks to automate assessments that are currently performed by people. In the case of Indian banks, this could cut verification time from two weeks to two days.

Identities are confirmed using structured and unstructured data, such as financial history, criminal records. The system then filters out irrelevant information and analyses the data in real-time to identify the connections the individual has to other people and companies.

Using machine learning, the system learns as it encounters new patterns, allowing it to build a wider understanding of how criminal behaviour in the financial services operates.

“Cognitive computing has the potential to dramatically simplify digital trust processes throughout the financial services industry,” Signzy co-founder and chief executive officer Ankit Ratan said.

Blockchain is utilised to establish the platform’s common protocol for conducting background checks. The data will be decentralised while remaining highly secure.

The digital trail created for each customer’s identity, background information and online transactions is stored on the blockchain.

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